Marathon effort to cure Holly
When David Pretorius crossed the line in last year’s New York Marathon he realised there would be no finish for him until he sees his daughter Holly walk again.
The Dairy Flat stockbroker ran to raise money for The CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Research Trust and will lead a team of seven again at this year’s New York Marathon on November 6 in the hopes of raising more funds for research which one day will cure his daughter’s paralysis.
Holly, 13, was paralysed from the waist down in a car accident on East Coast Rd in Redvale on March 12, 2010, when she was six. The day is etched into the minds of David and his family. Holly, her sister Alexandra and brother Adam were returning home from school with their grandmother when the accident happened. Four-year-old Adam died and Holly received critical injuries.
‘‘I stumbled around for months afterwards, trying to find something with which to distract myself. ’’That distraction has come in the form of the quest for the cure for spinal cord injury,’’ David says.
Then he met CatWalk founder Catriona Williams who shares his dream of finding a cure and helps fund groundbreaking research.
The country’s researchers and facilities are contributing to a global and growing body of evidence that shows a cure for SCI will be found.
‘‘The scientific evidence is mounting every day. Through further research, we can achieve a reduction in permanent paralysis to Kiwis in the future, and an improved quality of life and independence for those living with a SCI today.’’ Catriona says. Benefits of research go beyond the impacts on SCI patients, contributing central nervous system conditions like strokes, multiple sclerosis and dementia, she says.
Holly’s young age at the time means she remembers little of life on two legs.
‘‘I can still do most things that able bodied people can, obviously not walking, but activities like horse riding,’’ she says.
The first thing she would do if she could walk again would be to try out for a movie, the aspiring actor says.
Not being a scientist or doctor David says all he can do is help raise funds so work for a cure can continue. Go to teamcatwalk2016.gofundraise.co.nz/ to donate or learn more about others in the CatWalk team, such as Olympic rower Rebecca Scown.